The Ancient Bronze Implements, Weapons, and Ornaments, of Great Britain and Ireland.

by John Evans

Fig. 5.—Weymouth. ½

The celt shown in Fig. 5 might perhaps be more properly placed among the flanged celts, as, without having well-developed flanges along the sides, there is a projecting ridge running along either margin of the faces, in consequence of the sides having been somewhat chamfered, or having had their angles beaten down by hammering. It was found on Preston Down, near Weymouth, Dorsetshire; but I do not know under what circumstances. It has become thickly coated with a dark sage-green patina, which has in places been unfortunately knocked off. The beautiful original ornamentation of the celt has been admirably preserved by the patina. The greater part of the surface has been figured with a sort of grained pattern like morocco leather, probably by means of a punch in form like a narrow blunt chisel. The faces of the blade are not flat, but taper in both directions from a ridge rather more than half-way up the blade. Along the lower side of this somewhat curved ridge, and again about an inch above the cutting edge, a belt of chevrons has been punched in, having the appearance of a plaited band. Below the lower band the surface has been left smooth and unornamented, so that grinding the edge would not in any way injure the pattern. The upper part of the blade has at the present time exactly the appearance of dark green morocco with “blind-tooling” upon it. No doubt many blades which were originally ornamented after the same fashion as this specimen have now, through oxidation or the accidental destruction of the patina, lost all traces of their original decoration. On this, where the patina has been destroyed, nothing can be seen of the graining.

I have a flat celt from Mildenhall, Suffolk (6 inches), in form like Fig. 6, the greater part of the surface of which has been grained in a similar manner, though the graining is now almost obliterated.

In the collection of the Duke of Northumberland[183] is a large celt which appears to be of the flat kind, with the side edges “slightly recurved,” and with the surface “elaborately worked with chevrony lines and ornaments which may have been partly produced by hammering.” It was found in Northumberland.

Another belonging to James Kendrick, Esq., M.D., found at Risdon,[184] near Warrington, is described as being “ornamented with punched lines in a very unusual manner.” Another, of which a bad representation from one of Dr. Stukeley’s drawings is given in the Archæologia, is said to have been found in the long barrow at Stonehenge.[185] One 4½ inches long, the faces ornamented with a number of longitudinal cuts, was found near Sidmouth.[186]

Fig. 6.—Read. ½

In some instances the faces of the celts have been wrought into a series of slightly hollowed facets. One such from Read, Lancashire, is in the British Museum, and is engraved as Fig. 6. The central space between the two series of ridges and also the margins of the faces are ornamented with shallow chevrons punched in. The sides have been hammered into three facets, and this has produced slight flanges at the margins of the faces. These facets are ornamented with diagonal lines. This celt was found with two others, apparently of the same kind, and is described and engraved in Whitaker’s “History of the Original Parish of Whalley.”[187] The author says that these instruments were from 9 to 12 inches long, and had a broad and narrow end, but had neither loops, grooves, nor any other contrivance by which they could be fixed in a shaft, or indeed applied to any known use. That in the British Museum was obtained by the late Mr. Charles Towneley. The two others were formerly in the collections of the Rev. Dr. Milles, P.S.A., and of Dr. Whitaker.

I now come to the flanged celts, or those which have projecting ledges along the greater part of each side of the faces, produced either by hammering the metal at the sides of the blades, or in the original casting. As has already been observed, some of the celts which have been described as belonging to the flat variety might, with almost equal propriety, have been classed as flanged celts, as the mere hammering of the sides with a view to render them smooth or to produce an ornament upon them “upsets” the metal, and produces a thickening along the margin which almost amounts to a flange.